Lean Into Rest - Why it's so Important for Working Creatives

With the Season 5 finale, Melissa and Heather talk about rest and why it's so critical for self-employed creatives. What does rest look like (no it's not sleep - but that's critical too!)? It's not a "one size fits all" concept. It may be a two week vacation but what if a "leave the house" vacation isn't possible? We dig deep into ways we can ensure rest is part of our creative cycle - whether you're an introvert, extrovert, parent, caregiver, managing multiple roles, financially strapped or somebody who needs movement or somebody who needs stillness.

Podcast Episode, ResourcesMelissa HartfielJune 3, 2024S5, rest, creative mindset, creative process, creative burnoutComment

Leaning Into Change for Creative Fulfillment with Geneviève Retzlaff

Transformational Coach Geneviève Retzlaff joins the show this week to help us lean into change in order to have fulfilling creative careers and lives. Whether you're thinking of leaving a traditional career to start a creative business or, you want to ramp up a side business or, you've already got a creative business but it's just not lighting your fire anymore, Gen helps us through the roadblocks we tend to put in place for ourselves!

Podcast Episode, ResourcesMelissa HartfielJanuary 26, 2024S5, creative mindset, hiring helpComment

The Law of Vibration & Your Creative Practice with Sara Fisher

Inspirational speaker and certified life coach Sara Fisher joins the show this week to talk about the Law of Vibration and how we can use it to foster both personal growth and growth in our creative practices. We talk about the Law of Vibration, the Law of Attraction and manifestation - and how they all work together. And just as importantly we talk about why you still need to do the work in order to grow and create change in your business.

Podcast Episode, ResourcesMelissa HartfielJanuary 12, 2024S5, law of vibration, sara fisher, creative mindset, creative processComment

Own Your Age and Your Wisdom with Zannat Reza

This week, healthy aging advocate Zanna Reza joins the show to talk about shaking up the system so we can grow older on our own terms. In a world where getting older (at any age) can come with a lot of stereotyping and discrimination, we talk about why we, as women, need to own our age - and the wisdom we've earned every day. In this conversation we discuss the importance of staying passionate, curious and creative at every stage in life - and why all humans need to feel a sense of purpose at any age!

Podcast Episode, Inspiring Women, ResourcesMelissa HartfielDecember 1, 2023S5, mental health, creative mindset, ageismComment

ASLU 109: Setting Boundaries For Your Creative Business

Setting boundaries in your creative business (and your life) are key to ensuring you're happy, successful and mentally and physically well. We talk about the key areas to look to and the questions to ask when you're determining what your boundaries are!

Podcast EpisodeMelissa HartfielJune 10, 2022S3, creative enterpreneurshp, creative mindset, business mindset, boundariesComment

ASLU 108: Tools To Help Grow Your Creative Business

In this week's episode, Melissa looks at some of the must have tools that will help grow your creative business - and a few that you don't need to worry about when you're in the early stages of your business.

ASLU 107: Making Sure Your Next Big Idea Is There When You Need It!

When you create for a living you don't always have the luxury of waiting for inspiration to strike. If a client is waiting, or a product launch is due, the work has to get done in order to get paid! So how do you make sure you've got a steady supply of inspiration and ideas at your finger tips when you need them? This week Melissa and Heather talk about the tools we can use to capture inspiration on a daily basis, store it and refer back to it when we need it!

ASLU 106: How Do You Know It's Time to Move On From Your Creative Business?

We all have moments where we want to throw in the towel with our creative businesses but how do you know when it's really time to move on? And how do you navigate all the fears that come with that? And what do you do with your business when it's time? My original co-host Lisa Bolton is back this week and we talk all about knowing when it's time to let go, move on or pivot.

ASLU 105: Creative Burnout: Protecting Yourself and Your Creative Business

Creative burnout can have a direct impact on your mental health and your ability to earn a living as a working creative. This week, we have an honest conversation about creative burnout, how you can protect yourself from it and what to do when you find yourself in the midst of it.

Podcast EpisodeMelissa HartfielMay 13, 2022S3, creative enterpreneurshp, creative mindset, creative burnoutComment

ASLU 104: A 7 Figure Creative Business?

Is it possible to have a 7 figure a year creative business? Is it a number we should all be shooting for? Yes... and no... Heather and Melissa talk about what's involved in running a 5 figure, 6 figure and 7 figure business and how to measure success.

Podcast EpisodeMelissa HartfielMay 6, 2022S3, creative enterpreneurshp, creative mindset, business mindsetComment

ASLU 096: Create Room for Silence

This week Melissa talks about how creating space every day for silence has made it easier for her to weather bad news cycles and stressful social media environments in world where it feels like everyone is shouting and nobody is listening.

Podcast EpisodeMelissa HartfielFebruary 25, 2022S3, creative mindset, creative process, creative enterpreneurshpComment

ASLU 095: Push Back Instant Gratification & Embrace the Process

This week Melissa and regular guest host Heather Travis explore the curse of expecting instant gratification - even when we try something brand new, the frustration of comparing ourselves to others and the importance of embracing (and enjoying) the process of doing the creative work in our businesses.

Podcast EpisodeMelissa HartfielFebruary 18, 2022S3, creative mindset, creative process, creative enterpreneurshpComment

ASLU 094: What the Heck is a Forever Series?

After sharing 20 Email Newsletter Ideas for Your Creative Business a few weeks ago, one question kept coming in... what the heck is a Forever Series? So this week, I'm sharing what it is, why you need one and why this might be the hardest working tool in your creative business toolbox (and one of the easiest to set up and keep going!).

Podcast EpisodeMelissa HartfielFebruary 11, 2022S3, creative mindset, email marketing, email newsletters, marketingComment

ASLU 092: 20 Email Newsletter Ideas for Creatives (That Aren't Too Sales-y)

You have an email list. You know you should be talking to your subscribers but... you have NO IDEA what to send them! Melissa & Heather give you 20 email newsletter ideas to help you engage with your subscribers, build a community around your work and... make money! You don't have to be sales-y all the time - the first four letters in newsletter are NEWS. But, remember, you can always ask for the sale. It just doesn't always have to be the prime focus of every newsletter!

ASLU 091: Creativity Coach Diane Foy and Multi-Passionat Artist Branding

As a multi-passionate creative herself, creativity coach and host of the Multi-Passionate Artists Podcast, Diane Foy understands how difficult it is for multi-passionate creative entrepreneurs to present themselves to the world. This week she joins the podcast to talk about the power of personal branding and showing the world all the wonderful things you do instead of trying to keep them under wraps!

ASLU 090: Creative Canadian Sharon Marie White and Why It's Never Too Late

Alberta singer/songwriter Sharon Marie White talks about her deep roots as a musician and performer and how she let her music move to the background as she found other ways to contribute to her family. Now, after putting her music on hold for decades, she's back and she's just getting started - in an era where women are no longer willing to put up with ageism as working creatives!

ASLU 089: Creative Canadian Raj Thandhi and Choosing a Word of the Year

Raj Thandhi, the Creative Director and owner of Pink Chai Media as well as the blogger behind Pink Chai Living joins Melissa this week to talk about choosing a word of the year and why this has been such a beneficial exercise for both of them over the years - in their businesses and their personal lives.

ASLU 088: Reviewing & Setting Goals for Your Creative Business in 2022

Melissa & Heather sit down and do an honest evaluation of their 2021 goals and look ahead to how they're approaching and setting goals for 2022. They include the good, the great, the bad and the really ugly. They all happened in 2021 but with that came some valuable lessons to be carried over into goal planning for 2022.

Podcast EpisodeMelissa HartfielDecember 17, 2021S3, creative mindset, creative enterpreneurshp, Tiffany MayerComment

ASLU 087: Creative Canadian Tiffany Mayer: The Biggest Freelancer Mistakes

Author, journalist and freelance writer Tiffany Mayer joins Melissa to talk about some of the biggest mistakes we tend to make as freelancers in the creative services. Are you making these mistakes?

Podcast Episode, Inspiring WomenMelissa HartfielDecember 10, 2021S3, creative mindset, creative enterpreneurshp, Tiffany MayerComment

ASLU 086: Creative Canadian Kristen Raney of Shifting Roots

Saskatoon's Kristen Raney of Shifting Roots went from being a professional singer to an urban gardener, floral artist and content entrepreneur. In this episode, Kristen shares how she created a successful multi-revenue stream business. Operating from an abundance mindset with a belief in the power of collaboration and education, Kristen has not only brought her audience along for the ride, she's turned the power of growing that community into a revenue generating business strategy.

Podcast Episode, Inspiring WomenMelissa HartfielDecember 3, 2021S3, creative mindset, creative enterpreneurshp, Kristen Raney, inspire4Comment